Alex Turner praised The Rolling Stones for their ''amazing'' Glastonbury debut.

Arctic Monkeys were headlining the festival on the same weekend the legendary rockers performed there for the time earlier this year, and their front-man loved seeing the friendship that still exists between the iconic members.

He told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: ''That was amazing. I'd never seen them before. And from where we were watching [at the side of the stage] there was this little partition behind the drums, and we could see them all before they went on.

''And it wasn't like they all got out of different dressing rooms and went onstage - they were all stood there, having a buzz, laughing.

''Then they went off and did their thing. And whenever they went offstage you could see they were loving it, chatting and stuff. And you thought, 'Yeah, the Stones are still a gang'. Which was really cool to see, actually.''

It is a sentiment which rings true with Alex, 27, and the rest of the band - completed by Jamie Cook, Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders - having know each other for two decade, and he credits their long-lasting friendships with helping cement their longevity.

He added: ''That's what it is, and it's been that since before we were a band. And that is quite unusual. And I perhaps took that for granted for a while. But I understand how important it is now.''